UNICEF Says Yemen is ‘On the Brink’ After Years of War

A senior United Nations official warned on Monday that Yemen is “on the brink” after years of internal conflict.

According to the Associated Press news agency, Ted Chaiban, UNICEF director for the Middle East and North Africa, said that in Yemen two million children are suffering from “severe malnutrition” and five million people are on the verge of famine.

He said that currently efforts by the United Nations and non-governmental organizations are keeping the country afloat and warned that “if these efforts fall apart, everything will fall apart.”

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has requested $2.5 billion in emergency budget from global donors for Yemen, and Ted Chaiban sounded the alarm on Monday about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country.

Ted Chaiban described the overall situation in the Middle East and North Africa as dire, saying that from Syria and Lebanon to Ethiopia and Sudan, the conditions of children and families are not good, and the Middle East alone accounts for 40 percent of UNICEF’s six billion dollar global aid request.

Source: Radio Farda